In Manila, Less Is More in This Race

The How Much Ethanol vehicle from Panjavidhya Technological College in Thailand, runs on the track during Day 2 of the Shell Eco Marathon Asia in Manila on Feb. 7.

Thai students drove the longest distance on a single liter of fuel after three days of competition in fourth edition of Shell Eco-Marathon Asia, sustaining their winning record.

The Asian edition of the challenge to create the most fuel-efficient vehicle was held for the first-time in Manila Feb. 6-9, and in street conditions instead of a racetrack, which makes it more difficult to travel longer distance on a single liter of fuel.

Shell holds the event to encourage students to undertake research on and develop fuel-efficient, and alternative-fuel vehicles.

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Mike Alquinto/AP Images for Shell

The Sadewa Otto team from Universitas Indonesia after winning 1st place in the Urban Concept category at the Shell Eco Marathon Asia in Manila on Feb. 9.

Thai teams have been turning in the most fuel-efficient vehicles since the Asia edition of Shell Eco-Marathon started in 2010 in Malaysia, though the 2013 edition was cancelled because of the haze caused by the burning of forests in Indonesia.

Team How Much Ethanol from Panjavidhya Technological College in Thailand covered a total 2,730.83 kilometers on a liter of ethanol, the distance between Manila and Jakarta. The team was entered in the prototype class, where vehicles are more futuristic-looking, have a single seat and usually have three wheels.

Virgin, a team from Thailand’s Sakonnakhon Technical College, covered 1,796.03 kilometers on a liter of gasoline while the team from Ratanakosin Technological College ran the distance of 263.4 kilometers on a battery with a charge equivalent to one kilowatt-hour.

Teams from Indonesia dominated the Urban Concept class, where vehicles resemble traditional cars. ITS Team 2 from Indonesia’s Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember drove 151.41 kilometers on a liter of fatty acid methyl ester, or FAME, more popularly known as biodiesel.

Team Sadewa Otto from the Universitas Indonesia won top spot by covering 301.68 kilometers on a liter of gasoline–nearly double the distance it covered in the previous running (2012, the 2013 edition was cancelled coz of haze) of the challenge Team HORAS MESIN from University of Sumatera Utara drove a distance of 101.37 kilometers on a liter of ethanol, while team Mesin Polnep from Politeknik Negeri Pontianak covered 70.35 kilometers on a liter of diesel.

No entry won in the gas-to-liquid category of Urban Concept class and in the FAME fuel in the prototype class.

Norman Koch, technical director of the Shell Eco-marathon, said in a statement that the “marked improvements” on the scores of competitors are “extremely impressive” because this is the first time that the challenge was held in a street setting.

Aside from the 12 On-Track awards, six Off-Track Awards were given at the end of the competition on Sunday. Off-Track Awards recognize teams various technical and creative skills as well as their approach to safety and sustainability.

The “Perseverance and Spirit of the Event” award went to Team MIT Eco-Warriors of the Madras Institute of Technology India and DLSU Eco Car Team-Electric from De La Salle University in the Philippines. The vehicle of the Indian team didn’t arrive in Manila, so the team had to refurbish a 2011 vehicle lent to it by De La Salle University.

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Indonesia Real Time provides analysis and insight into the region, which includes Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Brunei. Contact the editors at SEAsia@wsj.com.

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